New Creative Space

For the last couple of years, most of our homeschooling was done at the kitchen table.  I didn't have a desk of my own so when the school day was over, everything was put back where it belonged.  I really wanted an area of my own and my husband made it happen!

Even though the boys have graduated, I still need desk space for some of my other interests such as planning/planners and Bible study, menu planning, etc.  Now I have so much space, I have a little dedicated spot for some of my favorite Willow Tree figurines.

My husband and I visited Home Depot to purchase a piece of 8 ft wooden laminate that fit perfectly into my space and 11" was cut off to make two shelves that were installed above the printer.  It is well-lit with fluorescent light and is really everything I wanted. It's not a fancy spot, and as renters, there is only so much you can do, but I absolutely love how is customized to my liking.  Not only is my husband very handy, but he's not much of a procrastinator.  When I told him I was ready for my creative space, he set out to make it happen

Below are some snaps of my area.  The pictures on the wall were just placed wherever a nail was present.  My next project is to add more pictures and balance them all out appropriately!

Do you have a designated creative space in your home?

DIY Custom Dashboard

I love DIY planners.  I rarely use all of the inserts that come with a new planner and I am just now realizing that I know better than to think I will!  It's because I also love the creative process of making things and seeing how it will look in my planner.  I love seeing other inserts and layouts and see if I can duplicate the look until I move on to trying something else.  The planning system remains the same, so everything else is just for looks!

Today I created a new dashboard for my planner.  I made it a top tab that says "Inbox" and while I was getting ready to print out the template, I decided to put a label, "shopping" in the upper right-hand corner because that is where I always put a little sticky note to jot down things we need at the grocery (there's also a little square printed the same size at the sticky note). A 3x3 white Post-its was added for note-taking.

My last idea was to print my "if lost return to:" information at the bottom of my dashboard.  My planner sticks pretty close to me -  I hope that is never needed.  I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose my planner.

All of this was printed on vellum, cut out, and then laminated.  My laminator is my favorite new toy.  It cost me about $20 on Amazon - I don't know why I waited so long to get one!

Back in Rings

 I loved using a Stalogy to let the creative juices flow, but I am pretty certain that I will always prefer rings!

I heard that Michael's had their Recollections binders on sale for $5.97, so I had to go by and pick up a couple (the butter-yellow was $6.97).  I've been thinking I would like to have a black, personal Moterm planner, but for now, this black planner checks all the buttons for me.  I am very frugal (cheap?) so getting these planners for more than half off makes me a little giddy.

I don't know about you, but setting up the planner is a big part of the fun also.  I already had some daily and monthly inserts that I created so that didn't take long at all. My week on 1-page insert is new, but I'm not sure I am digging it. 

My main sections are:  daily, weekly, monthly, projects, health, and food.  I also have a-z tabs in the back where everything else is filed (Christmas card lists, brain dump trigger list, review lists, recurring tasks lists - things like that).

I learned about the Getting Things Done method by watching Brandy Michelle Plan's early videos.  Check them out if you are interested!

Using a Reference Book with my Stalogy

Yesterday I impatiently waiting for the first of the month to start my new Stalogy, and now half the month is gone.  Incredible.

I continue to enjoy using a Stalogy for all my planning.  I was a rings girl for so long and never imagined I would switch.  For now, it feels like I would never go back, but honestly, you never know about me!

There were several reasons I  could never imagine myself in a bound book, but in time, solutions to those reasons have presented themself.

In every ringed planner I used, I always had A-Z tabs in the back.  I had it chocked full of useful information.  I didn't know how that would work with a bound planner, because I did NOT want to rewrite that information in every book I used.  I viewed several YouTube videos before I found the solution in what I call my "Reference Notebook".  

It makes sense, Traveler's Notebooks have individual inserts (notebooks) for different categories, including reference or information books.  That was exactly what I needed.  After filling in all the lists I use from Month to Month, such as medications, master shopping list, wish lists, etc., I put the notebook on a string in my de-ringed planner (post on that coming soon).

 I was surprised to discover that the closer I got to 50, my usually very good memory was giving me a hard time!  My reference book helps with that a lot.  It includes the usual contact information and passwords, but also the makeup shade and hair color I use, as well as what size clipper guards the stylist use when she cuts my boy's hair.  OK, the 18 and 20 now, and drive themselves to get haircuts - they also tell the stylist how they want their hair cut, but this is how I USED to do it!  <grin>

How do you use a reference notebook?  Have a different method?  Tell me all about it!

Reconstructing a Reflections Ringed Binder

After switching to a Stalogy and realizing it would become my main method of planning, I wondered what to do with my binders.  I like to use what I have and prefer them to not become a decoration on a shelf.  I have a couple of Reflections binders that I really like, despite the fact that they are not very expensive.  As a matter of fact, the low cost gave me the courage to try a little "surgery" on them.

Again, after viewing some YouTube videos, I decided to remove the rings.  I raided my son's toolbox and with minimal effort was able to pull them off.  With the first binder, I cut a slit in the stitching, eased out the metal plate, and glued the slit shut.  This worked fine and I liked how flexible the cover was.

With the second binder, which was my favorite, I decided to not cut the stitching and instead popped off the screw posts.  This left the metal plate inside, but this was not a deal-breaker. I can also live with the post holes but again decided to try something different that I had seen on Daksina's YouTube video.

As shown in the top picture, I laminated a piece of patterned paper and inserted it in the back pocket and the front side pocket - pretty and it covered the holes.  I poked two holes in the laminated paper, top, and bottom, and slid in some elastic string, which is where my reference notebook resides.

In the future, I would like to play with adding more strings to see what it would be like to have two Stalogys in one cover with maybe a couple of inserts.  I also know that I can buy a B6 Traveler's Notebook and do the same thing - so that may happen also?

Do you like changing around your planner...doing new things?

 

My Favorite Menu Planner

I have been using this insert for years and it is still my favorite.  I plant groceries for a week at a time, so I feel like I need some room to spread everything out and see it all in one place.

It's a letter-size page, so I don't keep it in my planner. I know I could shrink it down, rotate it and make it a foldable, but that would defeat the purpose I need it for.  Who knows though, I'll probably try it, LOL!  Once upon a time, I thought I would never use a planner smaller than half-size!

The top portion is where you write down your meals, underneath is where you list the ingredients for each meal/recipe.  This helps me not to forget an ingredient.  You can download it here.

From the Archives: Everyday Matters Daily Docket

This one is a bit dated (February 11, 2015), and my style has changed quite a bit, but you never know when someone is going to like something that you think isn't very good, so I'm sharing it! You can download it HERE.